Kingsford, Anna (1846–1888)
Kingsford, Anna (1846–1888)
British physician and religious writer . Born Anna Bonus in 1846; died in 1888; studied medicine in Paris; awarded M.D. degree, 1880; married Algernon Godfrey Kingsford (vicar of Atcham, Shropshire), in 1867.
Anna Kingsford had established herself quite well as a writer before taking up the study and practice of medicine. She began publishing miscellaneous works as early as 1863 and contributed stories to the Penny Post from 1868 to 1872. Kingsford converted to Roman Catholicism in 1870 and, in 1872, purchased the Lady's Own Paper which she edited for a year. She began her medical studies in Paris in 1874 and received her M.D. degree in 1880. She practiced in London for only eight years before her death in 1888. Kingsford was also the president of the Theosophical Society (1883) and founded the Hermetic Society (1884).